Japan eyes $4 bil. in civilian aid to Afghanistan over 5 yrs+

TOKYO, Nov. 3 Kyodo -
Japan would give Afghanistan roughly $4 billion in civilian aid over five years
from 2010 in a program expected to replace the Self-Defense Force's
antiterrorism refueling mission, an outline of the aid package showed Tuesday.
The package would include assistance for paid vocational training for former
Taliban fighters, development of farmland in the war-ravaged country, and a
project to construct a new city north of Kabul.
The Japanese government aims to decide on the package formally ahead of an
upcoming Tokyo visit on Nov. 12-13 by U.S. President Barack Obama, with whom
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will likely discuss aid for Afghanistan as ''one
of the most important issues facing the international community.''
Hatoyama said in his first Diet speech Oct. 26 that Tokyo is considering
providing farming assistance, vocational training for former Afghan insurgents
and aid to bolster local police functions as alternative support for
Afghanistan to the ongoing SDF refueling mission.
In agricultural assistance, farmland would be developed through flood control
works and construction of water facilities, while the focus in the
city-building project would be centered on infrastructures such as roads and
electric power facilities, according to the outline.
The envisaged aid would be implemented through the U.N. Development Program and
other international organizations as well as the government-backed Japan
International Cooperation Agency.
Japan would also increase the number of JICA experts engaged in agricultural
assistance to expand their farming advisory and training services from urban
areas, particularly in and around Kabul, to the country's northeastern grain
belt.
The vocational training for former fighters, meanwhile, is designed to
encourage people who joined the Taliban out of poverty to disarm and hence help
enhance public safety and restore public order in the country, while employing
Afghan trainers at Japan's expenses, according to the outline.
Tokyo would also bear about half the payroll for the country's roughly 80,000
police officers, and help build schools and train teachers in the area of
education.
Other ideas being considered include increasing financial aid for Afghan
military forces, which some government officials believe is essential for the
country's stability despite Japan's fiscal constraints, and having Japanese
experts train Afghan police officers in Muslim countries such as Indonesia.
As for the idea of deploying SDF personnel in Afghanistan, which has been
studied by the Defense Ministry, the government is unlikely to include it in
the aid package, government sources said, citing security problems and a need
for new legislation authorizing it.
In support of U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in and around Afghanistan,
Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force has been providing fuel and water to
foreign naval vessels in the Indian Ocean, but the mission will end Jan. 15 as
the Democratic Party of Japan-led government has no plan to extend it.
==Kyodo